Rail transport
Rail-based transports such as trains, trams, monorails, railway tracks and train stations are recurring themes throughout the Half-Life series. At numerous points in every one of the games (excluding Portal), the player encounters one or more moving or stationary locomotives, lone carriages, or full-length coupled trains. There are also several instances where the player must cross or follow railway tracks, either on foot, non-rail vehicle, riding in or on the train itself, or by use of an electric monorail, the latter a prominent feature in the original Half-Life game. Types of rail vehicles ''Half-Life'' and its expansions *The monorail is the type used in the Black Mesa Transit System. It comes in two varieties, passenger and freight. *Regular trains are used among the Black Mesa Research Facility to bring supplies. Train cars can be seen in Blue Shift, among others. ''Half-Life 2'' and its episodes *Three trainstations are featured in Half-Life 2 and its episodes: the City 17 Trainstation and the Depot in Half-Life 2 and the Technical trainstation in Episode One, although the Citadel also features a train depot. *The Combine heavily use the existing railway. They mostly use it for troop and Stalker transport in Combine-designed Razor Trains. Also, old existing human trains are recycled for Citizen transportation among the Combine-ruled cities, one of the few remains of the cut concept of the Combine recycling human technology for their needs. This is in that kind of train Gordon Freeman wakes up at the start of Half-Life 2. *The train in which the player arrives in City 17 is pulled by a railcar based on the DR1 DMU railcar produced in Riga, Latvia. Coupled with units from a different train, it is used by the Combine like a locomotive. The DR1 and its modifications (DR1P, DR1A, etc.) are common DMU trains in post-Soviet countries (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, etc.). *The freight train locomotive seen in Episode Two seems to be based on the Russian TEM2 locomotive. *The train using the railway linking Combine outposts located in the Wasteland is called the "Wasteland Train".Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar *Train tracks can also be found in Ravenholm, and a track-mounted Zombie defense is present in a small mining section between the town and Shorepoint. *In Episode One, Gordon and Alyx leave City 17 on a regular train as the Citadel Core explodes. In Episode Two, their train has crashed in the White Forest. *The Victory Mine complex features an old mining network where rusty carts can be found. Railways as a literary device s on a train on its way to the City 17 Trainstation at the very start of Half-Life 2.]] Railways, along with roads, rivers, and other paths, have long been used in literature and visual arts as a device representing a journey taking place, such as the railway in the film Stand By Me, or the River Congo in Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness. Valve may well have not intended this consciously when developing the environments with which the characters interact, but the effect of the motif's appearance throughout the series is a constant symbol and reminder of the long and often difficult journey each character is making as the games progress. The implications of these journeys often include an "inner journey" that each character undertakes parallel to the physical one, emerging at the end having gained something metaphysical, like a greater sense of self, a broader understanding of the world, or inner and outer strength. In the Half-Life series, Gordon Freeman, because of the circumstances he find himself in, is forced to be brave and strong, and endure tasks he was not prepared to undertake. In this way, he follows a "path" throughout his experiences, and is a stronger person for it. What is known is that the player's path through the train station was meant to play a role similar to that of the train ride in Half-Life, i.e. reveal the story setting to the player. In Half-Life 2, the story would unfold at the player's own speed, rather than on a fixed rail, and come about through interaction with the characters naturally found in that setting.Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar Behind the scenes *The railway theme was decided to be a major theme along the Coast very early in the development of Half-Life 2, although it was initially even more present.Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar *At some point, Gordon was to ride along the coast on a train; a story fragment has his train crashing near the Air Exchange, meeting Alyx and Skitch there and being attacked by the Combine. While Gordon rides the Coast with the Buggy and on foot, the idea was kept for Alyx who arrived at the Depot by train.Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar *An elevated railway for the Razor Train bringing Citizens into City 17 (a normal terrestrial train in the final version) was to cross the Combine Factories.WC mappack *City 17 was originally to feature trams. One tram can be found in the map "e3_c17_02.vmf". Tracks and shelters are still visible is some parts of the city, notably in recycled parts of the map "c17_02.vmf" found at the end of the Half-Life 2 chapter "Follow Freeman!". Furthermore, an early test map, "prefab_streets_blvd.vmf", featured a boulevard with trams going in both directions.WC mappack Gallery Concept art File:Early city17.jpg|Tram in an early City 17 gloomy street. File:Trainstation2.jpg|Inside the City 17 Trainstation (actually a modified version of the stenographer's chasm building). File:Trainstation5.jpg|Ditto. File:Train city 17.jpg|Train in City 17. File:Seafloor railroad.jpg|Railway along the dried seafloor. File:Razor train2.jpg|A Razor Train locomotive. File:Metal bridge.jpg|Bridge along the coast.Based on the WC mappack map "wasteland_railbridge.vmf". File:Depot down.jpg|The Depot. File:Depot lifted train.jpg|Razor Train locomotive being lifted in the Depot.Based on the WC mappack map "wasteland_depot_inside.vmf". File:Depot tech.jpg|Razor Train locomotive handler in the Depot. Screenshots File:D1 c17 01f 010000.jpg|Elevated railway and pipes in the Combine Factories area. File:Garage train.jpg|The streets among the Combine Factories, featuring an elevated railway for the Razor Train. File:C17 plaza06 fixed0005.jpg|Rails passing under an early Trainstation Plaza, in the map "c17_plaza06.vmf".A predecessor of the map "e3_terminal.vmf" File:Tram beta.jpg|A tram in the map "e3_c17_02.vmf". File:HalfLife2 City17 CityCenter.jpg|A ravaged City 17 street, close to the Citadel wall, recycled from the map from the previous image. File:Trainstation tunnels.jpg|Railway near the City 17 Trainstation. File:Trainstation back2.jpg|City 17 Trainstation main platforms from far. File:Trainstation engines.jpg|DR1 DMU railcars in the City 17 Trainstation. File:ForcefieldGenerators.jpg|Combine Forcefield Generators along the Canals railway. File:HalfLife2 City17 Railway&Canal.jpg|A Combine Razor Train passes by a canal and residential apartments. File:D1 canals 06000035.jpg|Railroad bridge in the Canals. File:Rail Bridge.jpg|The railway bridge at Bridge Point used by the Combine for moving supplies in and out of Nova Prospekt. File:Razor train engine.jpg|Razor Train passing by in the Depot. File:Razor train.jpg|Razor Train in the Citadel. File:Ep1 c17 05000200.jpg|DR1 DMU railcars in the technical trainstation. File:Ep1 trainstation barney.jpg|Barney Calhoun leaving the Technical trainstation to an unknown destination. File:Ep1 railway combine checkpoint.jpg|Combine Wall flanked with a Combine Watchtower above the railway near the Technical trainstation. File:Ep2 outland 010003.JPG|Gordon and Alyx's train after the wreck. File:Ep2 outland 010004.JPG|Ditto. File:Ep2 outland 0100192.JPG|Gordon and Alyx's train falling when the bridge is destroyed by the Portal Storm. File:Ep2 outland 010022.JPG|The first entrance to the Victory Mine. File:Ep2 outland 01a0023.jpg|Antlion Worker trying to hit the player in the Victory Mine. File:Ep2 outland 01a0022.jpg|Inside the Victory Mine. File:Ep2 outland tracks.jpg|Railway and damaged railroad cars in the White Forest. Models File:Razor train brush.jpg|The early brush Razor Train locomotive, with modified lights. File:Razor train engine red.jpg|A Razor Train locomotive. File:Razor Train.jpg|Ditto. Engine1.jpg|A DR1 DMU railcar. Engine freight.jpg|A TEM2 freight train locomotive. Engine diesel.jpg|Unused freight train locomotive. Outrocar.jpg|Train car seen at the end of Episode One. Train003.jpg|Boxcar. Boxcar grey.jpg|Ditto. Wrecked boxcar gate.jpg|Wrecked boxcar. Wrecked boxcar jump.jpg|Wrecked boxcar. Ore traincar.jpg|Ore boxcar. Train002.jpg|Tank car. Tanker.jpg|Ditto. Freight train skybox.jpg|Low resolution freight train, possibly used in a skybox. Mining cart.jpg|Mining cart from the Victory Mine. List of appearances *''Half-Life: Day One'' *''Half-Life'' *''Half-Life: Opposing Force'' *''Half-Life: Blue Shift'' *''Half-Life: Decay'' *''Half-Life 2'' *''Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar'' *''Half-Life 2: Episode One'' *''Half-Life 2: Episode Two'' Notes and references See also *Black Mesa Transit System *City 17 Trainstation *Technical trainstation *Razor Train External links *"Trains In Games - Half Life 2" on TrainInGames.com Category:Rail-based transportation Category:Vehicles Category:Recurring themes